Senate OKs $140 million tax break for home owners
SENATE REPORT
By STATE SEN. CHIP PEARSON

Chip Pearson

If you weren't tuned in to the business of the General Assembly last week, then you may not have heard the great news coming out of our state capitol. After much deliberation, leadership in the Senate and House has arrived at a compromise on the FY 07 supplemental budget that will be of great benefit to all of Georgia's citizens.

First, let me bring you up to speed on the budget talks that I have been a part of for much of the last few weeks. Recently, members of the Senate voted to cut all "pork" out of the FY 07 amended budget and include only those items that are absolutely necessary.

In a bipartisan spirit, members of the Senate rallied behind Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, who is adamant that the amended budget should fund only those items necessary - additional funding for Georgia's school systems, which admitted more students than they anticipated last year, and to fund emergency spending needs such as PeachCare for Kids, the counties which were damaged by the March 1 tornadoes and the public defender program.

This is a responsible spending philosophy that keeps the pledge Republicans have made to exercise restraint in the budget process, and put our state on sound financial footing. Lt. Gov. Cagle is doing the right thing, and because he is doing the right thing, he has unanimous support in the Senate. When it comes to the taxpayers' money, government officials should demonstrate fiscal responsibility and restraint, and I think that we see this in the FY 07 amended budget. I am proud of the principled work we have done in the Senate Appropriations Committee and in Conference Committee in an attempt to truly cut back on government spending.

Last week, a compromise was reached on the amended budget that will allow approximately $140 million to be returned to Georgia homeowners in the form of a $100 refund check or property tax credit. In adopting this budget, we are taking our state government in a very positive new direction. Georgia's taxpayers are currently overburdened, and we need to do everything we can to return surplus revenues to the taxpayers once we've adequately funded the next year's budget and put money into the state reserves. In my mind, anytime we can refund money to the taxpayers of Georgia, we are doing what we were elected to do by the voters. I am pleased to have been involved in the budget agreement process, and I look forward to seeing these property tax credits being signed into law by Governor Perdue.

In other news, the Senate passed an important bill last week that will pave the way for new cable and video service providers in Georgia. House Bill 227 passed overwhelmingly in both chambers and should become law very soon. The legislation, known as the Consumer Choice for Television Act, will expand the franchising ability of cable and video services in Georgia, allowing other types of companies (such as phone companies) to compete in the cable television market. The measure will ultimately drive down prices and give Georgia citizens more options if and when they choose to subscribe to a cable television service.

Lastly, as chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee, I hope that many of my readers had the opportunity to enjoy spring break this year at one of Georgia's great tourist attractions, such as the Georgia Aquarium, or one of our amazing state parks. Remember that tourism is the number two industry in Georgia, so anytime you can get out with your family an visit someplace like Callaway Gardens, you're helping fuel our state's economy while having fun at the same time.